The Seventeenth of March

I know many are awash in green beer, one of the more interesting ways one can observe a Roman Catholic holy day.

But, in addition to remembering the good Mr Patrick, lots more is going on. For instance it is the eve of my spouse’s birthday. So ’tis a day I start scurrying around looking for that small token suitable to the occasion.

It’s also the feast of Joseph of Arimathea, who took the young Jesus on a tour of England, as any good Brit can tell you…

It is also by someone’s calculation the day in 180 when the great philosopher emperor Marcus Aurelius dies, leaving the empire in the hands of his son, which turns out to be a very bad idea. Anyone in the general vicinity of Boston knows it is Evacuation Day marking the end of the siege of that great American city during the revolution. On this day in 1805 the Italian Republic becomes the Kingdom of Italy & Napoleon generously accepts the crown. It is also the day in 1954 when the Dalai Lama and his court flee Tibet just ahead of China’s troops.